S.D. SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION LINEUP SET

San Diego 
Four political newcomers will compete for two of the three seats up for election on the San Diego school board.

Only one incumbent, board president and psychologist John Lee Evans, will face challengers in his bid for a second term on the panel that steers the San Diego Unified School District.

Trustee Richard Barrera once again faces no competition. He was first elected without a contest in 2008, when incumbent Luis Acle failed to qualify for the ballot.

Shelia Jackson is not seeking re-election after serving eight years on the board.

In the race to represent University City, Mira Mesa and Clairemont and other communities in sub-district A, Evans, 58, faces two challengers: Jared Hamilton, a 26-year-old businessman from Clairemont; and Mark Powell, 50, of University City, a former police officer, San Diego Unified teacher and administrator who now teaches at National University.

Two candidates running to succeed Jackson in sub-district E are community college instructor Marne Foster, 43, and William Ponder, 62, a retired university administrator and former teacher. Both candidates live near Valencia Park.

Candidates will square off in the June 5 primary, an election that is open only to voters in sub-districts with open board seats. The top-two vote-getters will go on the November general election, a contest that will be determined by voters throughout San Diego Unified.

With a $1.1 billion operating budget and 14,000 employees, San Diego Unified is California’s second-largest school district.

The district has issued layoff notices to more than 1,600 teachers — including about 20 percent of its elementary teaching force — to offset a projected $122 million deficit in next year’s budget.